Russia invades Ukraine

[Russel]

War is not supposed to be funny in any way, but the Russian Army are doing a good job of trying to make it funny with incidents like this.

Some of their actions do resemble a sketch from Fawty Towers or Farther Ted...

 

[Cloud Strife]

I caught an interesting interview with a retired Polish general, and the gist of what he said was that he would propose an attack in the Donbas region. I was surprsied by this, but his logic is that in/around Melitopol, the Russians are playing defence and therefore you need considerable firepower to dislodge them. In comparison, in the Donbas, Russia is still attack orientated, which means that you can simply repel their attacks with overwhelming force.

It does make me wonder if there's any possibility to what I've been speculating: an attack east from Bakhmut towards Luhansk (city) with the secondary aim of liberating Severnodonetsk and Alchev'sk could allow them to also sever the main roads leading to Donetsk from Russia. If they do that, it puts considerable pressure on Luhansk, which won't have been prepared for defence.

But the general also made it clear that this is a one shot chance.

 

[najaB]

But the general also made it clear that this is a one shot chance.

Indeed. It's rare that you get a second chance for a surprise attack.

 

[ainsworth74]

Indeed. It's rare that you get a second chance for a surprise attack.

And if anyone were to facilitate it I feel like it would be this Russian army...

 

[Cloud Strife]

Indeed. It's rare that you get a second chance for a surprise attack.

This is what makes me wonder if we won't see something completely unpredictable instead. For instance, an attack which quickly surrounds Donetsk (city) without entering it. The Russians are heavily focused on attack in that area, and Ukraine already has their defensive fortifications in place. They've been quietly battering Russian positions in Donetsk for a while, and fighting is increasing there in general. Everyone is looking elsewhere, but just how strong are the Russian defences of the city?

Everyone is talking about isolating Crimea, but perhaps we're looking in the wrong direction? By my estimation, if they were able to encircle Donetsk and create a decent sized buffer zone, then it would leave only the Rostov-Mariupol route open for getting supplies overland to Crimea.

 

[nw1]

I see a well-known personality appears to have a screw loose:

https://twitter.com/RealFairbrass/status/1649685440276865024

There’s chatter that Putin is about to attack London/the U.K. so I have request if it’s true. It’d be great if he could set his sights on No.10, the HOC, the London Mayor and any town or city contemplating LTNs. Thank you.

I doubt Putin will attack London or the UK for one, unless he wants Moscow to be attacked in retaliation. Digging around a bit, he (Fairbrass) has previously expressed views which could be interpreted as slightly sympathetic to Putin on Twitter, such as this:

https://twitter.com/RealFairbrass/status/1639696607925903361

Given the Tsunami of Putin hating/anti Russian rhetoric in recent times I’m not surprised by this

(regarding Putin putting weapons in Belarus).

Of all the people that might have developed extremist views, I never thought the singer of Right Said Fred would be one.

 

[GusB]

I see a well-known personality appears to have a screw loose:

https://twitter.com/RealFairbrass/status/1649685440276865024

I doubt Putin will attack London or the UK for one, unless he wants Moscow to be attacked in retaliation. Digging around a bit, he (Fairbrass) has previously expressed views which could be interpreted as slightly sympathetic to Putin on Twitter, such as this:

https://twitter.com/RealFairbrass/status/1639696607925903361

(regarding Putin putting weapons in Belarus).

Of all the people that might have developed extremist views, I never thought the singer of Right Said Fred would be one.

Deeply Dippy?

 

[ainsworth74]

I see a well-known personality appears to have a screw loose:

https://twitter.com/RealFairbrass/status/1649685440276865024

I doubt Putin will attack London or the UK for one, unless he wants Moscow to be attacked in retaliation. Digging around a bit, he (Fairbrass) has previously expressed views which could be interpreted as slightly sympathetic to Putin on Twitter, such as this:

https://twitter.com/RealFairbrass/status/1639696607925903361

(regarding Putin putting weapons in Belarus).

Of all the people that might have developed extremist views, I never thought the singer of Right Said Fred would be one.

He needs to pay more attention Medvedev has been threatening nuclear annihilation of the UK (and others) fairly regularly now for months. So far, we're still here and not turned into a soggy nuclear wasteland following a "radioactive tsunami" (which is likely impossible to produce anyway). That Moscow would itself become a nuclear wasteland, along with the various bunkers people like Putin would be hiding out in, around fifteen minutes later is by the by I'm sure.

 

[nw1]

Deeply Dippy?

Indeed. Or even Right Said Vlad.

 

[birchesgreen]

So the singer of Right Said Fred is a traitor. What a world we live in.

 

[DustyBin]

He needs to pay more attention Medvedev has been threatening nuclear annihilation of the UK (and others) fairly regularly now for months. So far, we're still here and not turned into a soggy nuclear wasteland following a "radioactive tsunami" (which is likely impossible to produce anyway). That Moscow would itself become a nuclear wasteland, along with the various bunkers people like Putin would be hiding out in, around fifteen minutes later is by the by I'm sure.

There has been some recent media scaremongering about Russia potentially interfering with North Sea infrastructure, which is of course a possibility. The headlines however were generally along the lines of “Putin’s plan to attack UK” which is obviously clickbait.

 

[jon0844]

Some of the replies are so funny... like the woman who thinks the alert message being sent tomorrow will activate the Graphine Oxide that was injected into us with the vaccine, and is controlled by 4G and 5G. I checked it wasn't a parody, but the account is nothing but vaccine conspiracy theory nonsense (which Right Said Fred were very much into at the time).

 

[ainsworth74]

There has been some recent media scaremongering about Russia potentially interfering with North Sea infrastructure, which is of course a possibility. The headlines however were generally along the lines of “Putin’s plan to attack UK” which is obviously clickbait.

Yes that's a fair concern and something which we should be much more wary of. So much critical infrastructure now runs along the seabed (telecommunications, electricity, gas, oil, etc) that being able to attack it and therefore being able to defend against attack are going to be increasingly important. Especially as sabotage is potentially quite an easy thing to both do and get away with.

 

[nw1]

Some of the replies are so funny... like the woman who thinks the alert message being sent tomorrow will activate the Graphine Oxide that was injected into us with the vaccine, and is controlled by 4G and 5G. I checked it wasn't a parody, but the account is nothing but vaccine conspiracy theory nonsense (which Right Said Fred were very much into at the time).

He certainly seems to have a strange cocktail of views, most of them just a little bit right-of-centre.

 

[Pete_uk]

Sevastopol got hit by drones last night.

 

[brad465]

Another attack on Crimea, this time hitting an oil depot:

Ukraine war: Crimea oil tank set ablaze by reported drone

Flames engulf the facility in Russian-held Sevastopol, a day after a wave of strikes across Ukraine.

www.bbc.co.uk

A drone strike has caused a massive fire at an oil depot in Russian-controlled Crimea, local officials say.
Video on social media shows smoke and flames billowing from the facility in Sevastopol, Crimea's main city.
Firefighters are at the scene. No-one was hurt in the strike, the Moscow-appointed regional governor said.
On Friday Russia launched a wave of air strikes in cities across Ukraine, killing at least 25 people. It was the first such attack in months.
The Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, is home to the main naval base for Moscow's Black Sea Fleet.
"A fuel tank is on fire in the Kazachya Bay district," Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on the messaging app Telegram. "According to preliminary information, it was caused by a drone strike."
The fire comes five days after Russian officials said they had fended off a drone attack by the Ukrainian military in the same area. Crimea has come under repeated attacks since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Friday's Russian barrage included a strike on a block of flats that killed 23 people - including four children - in the central Ukrainian city of Uman.
And a woman and her three-year-old daughter were killed in the city of Dnipro.

Kyiv was also targeted for the first time in 51 days. There were no reports of casualties in the capital.
Twenty-one out of 23 missiles and two drones were shot down by Ukraine's air defence system, officials said.
The Russian defence ministry said its military had targeted Ukrainian army reserve units. Moscow has previously said it does not deliberately target civilians, but thousands have been injured and killed across Ukraine since Russia's invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attacks showed further international action needed to be taken against Russia.
"Evil can be stopped by weapons... And it can be stopped by sanctions - global sanctions must be enhanced," he said in a tweet on Friday.
The attacks come as Ukrainian forces say they are ready to launch a military offensive with new equipment supplied by Western allies.
Russia has struggled to make headway in a winter offensive, including a 10-month battle for control of the strategically important city of Bakhmut.

 

[Sm5]

There has been some recent media scaremongering about Russia potentially interfering with North Sea infrastructure, which is of course a possibility. The headlines however were generally along the lines of “Putin’s plan to attack UK” which is obviously clickbait.

Its clickbait, but it does concern me that our governmment institutions are not very “redundant” or “independant” from cyber or physical attack.

Iirc just 9 missiles couple criple a huge swathe of our rail network for some time.
Taking out wind farms etc, isnt particularly hard but reinstating it could be difficult.
Whilst the Data Centre network is widely distributed, its dependant on power and generators alone are not a long term back up, indeed most are not even well protected (Being on roofs, outside etc).

Whilst not military in nature, civilian way of life could become very distressed from normality in very short amounts of time, and I would hope ( but sadly think differently) that out government would contemplate and mitigate such actions with long term planning.

 

[Scotrail314209]

Ukraine war latest: Trump gives verdict on Putin call - as Russia tries to use Iran to its advantage

While the world's attention is drawn to the conflict in Iran, Russia's war in Ukraine shows no immediate sign of ending. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country is ready for peace talks now, but Kyiv's allies are focused on the Middle East. Follow the latest.

news.sky.com

Russia claims it foiled assassination attempt on Putin​

The Kremlin has claimed it stopped a drone attack on Vladimir Putin's presidential home overnight, according to Russian news agencies.
It called the attack a "planned terrorist act" and said it considered it to be an attempt on the Russian president's life, according to Interfax news agency.
No victims or damage were reported and Putin was not injured, the Kremlin said.
"On Wednesday night, the Kyiv regime made an attempt to strike using a UAV the Kremlin residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin," it said in a statement.
"Two unmanned aerial vehicles were aimed at the Kremlin. As a result of timely actions taken by the military and special services with the use of radar warfare systems, the vehicles were disabled."

What do we make of this yhen?

 

[brad465]

Ukraine war latest: Trump gives verdict on Putin call - as Russia tries to use Iran to its advantage

While the world's attention is drawn to the conflict in Iran, Russia's war in Ukraine shows no immediate sign of ending. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country is ready for peace talks now, but Kyiv's allies are focused on the Middle East. Follow the latest.

news.sky.com

What do we make of this yhen?

False flag might be possible, or it could be a rogue dissident in Russia who was either unsuccessful or firing a warning shot? While Ukraine have made suspected attacks on military targets in Russia, I don't know if they'd have anything to gain orchestrating this one?

 

[nw1]

Ukraine war latest: Trump gives verdict on Putin call - as Russia tries to use Iran to its advantage

While the world's attention is drawn to the conflict in Iran, Russia's war in Ukraine shows no immediate sign of ending. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country is ready for peace talks now, but Kyiv's allies are focused on the Middle East. Follow the latest.

news.sky.com

What do we make of this yhen?

"Terrorist act" lol. The person who tried to bump off Putin is of course a hero, not a terrorist.

 

[Gloster]

Of course, trying to bomb Zelensky, as I believe Russia tried to do at the beginning of the war, is quite another thing and totally fine, according to Putin. Watch for another round of restrictions and repression in Russia as a result of this, whatever it was and whoever was responsible.

 

[Darandio]

Footage of the incident is now on the BBC website. Some form of random CCTV capturing it would be far more believable but this appears to be shaky handheld footage from someone pointing the camera exactly where the incident was going to happen and even moving the camera slightly once the drone appears in shot. Looks very much staged to me.

 

[DustyBin]

Of course, trying to bomb Zelensky, as I believe Russia tried to do at the beginning of the war, is quite another thing and totally fine, according to Putin. Watch for another round of restrictions and repression in Russia as a result of this, whatever it was and whoever was responsible.

Zelensky, his family, Vitali Klitschko (and possibly Wladimir) were all on a "hit list" given to Russian units that entered Kyiv at the very beginning of the war. On at least one occasion they got within metres of a building in which Zelensky was staying by all accounts. In the end it was a one way trip for most if not all of them. So yes, Putin has some nerve!

 

[Parjon]

I have every confidence that if Ukraine intended to end the despot they would have done so, as opposed to just damaging the Kremlin's TV aerial.

 

[GS250]

Staged to maybe justify some kind of enhanced 'special military operation' type action against Ukraine?

 

[Cowley]

Staged to maybe justify some kind of enhanced 'special military operation' type action against Ukraine?

Staged to justify another more focused assassination attempt on Zelensky maybe?

 

[brad465]

One theory I've heard is it was staged to provide justification for cancelling victory parades next week.

 

[Parjon]

Staged to maybe justify some kind of enhanced 'special military operation' type action against Ukraine?

Most likely. In descending order of likelihood it's that, then a false flag by creatures even more extreme than Putin (to try and force his hand), then at the bottom of the list would be Russian resistance. The last one very unlikely as they know it would be used as propaganda.

The regime knows that they are about to be booted out of Ukraine. Who knows what atrocities they are planning, in the hope of contuining to reign over their depressed population, such is their lack of care for any and all life.

What a stupid, stupid war, born out of nothing more than stupid pea-brained macho supremacism.

 

[Annetts key]

Ukraine war latest: Trump gives verdict on Putin call - as Russia tries to use Iran to its advantage

While the world's attention is drawn to the conflict in Iran, Russia's war in Ukraine shows no immediate sign of ending. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country is ready for peace talks now, but Kyiv's allies are focused on the Middle East. Follow the latest.

news.sky.com

What do we make of this yhen?

Smells suspiciously like a false flag to me. Especially given it has occurred in May, after the Russians should have made significantly more progress than they have over the last three months, are scared stupid over Ukraines upcoming offensive, need even more men to be sent to fight, and, maybe are having difficulty putting together as big a display as they wanted in their ‘victory day’ parade on the 9th May.

Oh, and anything that Russia can use to say, look, it’s Ukraine/the U.S.A./the West attacking mother Russia, will always be used to pump out as propaganda on state TV…

 

[DynamicSpirit]

One theory I've heard is it was staged to provide justification for cancelling victory parades next week.

My only doubt about that is that, in the past, the consensus seems to have been that the Russian Government would never want to unnecessarily admit (or give the impression that) Ukraine can strike deep in Russian territory because that would communicate that their defences are very poor. Saying that Ukraine can strike not just inside Russia, but the residence of the supreme leader himself would seem to be about as bad as it can get from that point of view.